Wednesday, October 30, 2013

The trial of a Florida sheriff
on a charge of official misconduct is attracting the attention of
so-called “constitutional sheriffs” and the far-right Oath Keepers, who
claim that the sheriff – Nick Finch of Liberty County – was only
standing up for the Second Amendment when he “nullified” the arrest of a
citizen on a concealed-weapon charge.

Those activists see the Finch trial as a showdown between their
“constitutionalist” belief that the county sheriff is the highest
authority in the nation and state and federal authorities intent on
imposing their “tyranny” on the citizenry. In reality, Finch was arrested
for allegedly tampering with the arrest record of a man on a
concealment charge because he believed enforcing the law violated the
Second Amendment.

Finch was arrested
in June by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and charged with
one count of official misconduct, a third-degree felony, for having
“destroyed or removed official arrest documents” and making it appear an
arrest had never occurred, including whiting out the suspect’s name in
the booking log. His trial in Bristol began today.

Finch, 50, first elected in 2012, has been suspended and could be permanently removed from office.
The incident that sparked his arrest occurred on March 8, when a
Liberty County deputy pulled over a Bristol man named Floyd Parrish on
suspicion of drunken driving. While searching the man’s car, the deputy
found a pistol hidden inside his pocket. Parrish had no concealed-weapon
permit, so he wound up under arrest at the county jailhouse.

According to the arrest warrant (pdf),
at that point Sheriff Finch – who had never met Parrish – entered the
holding cell with Parrish’s brother. He then took possession of the
arrest file and told the booking sergeant to release Parrish and not
file any charges. The man’s mug shot had, apparently, already been taken
and his name entered into the arrest log. The arrest log entry was
later whited out by someone, though no one is certain who did so. Video
tapes of the arrest and subsequent release of Parrish were later
recorded over.

After Finch’s arrest in June, his case drew the attention of Richard Mack,
the erstwhile Arizona sheriff who now runs the far-right Constitutional
Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, an organization that draws its
beliefs in the supremacy of the county sheriffs from old, anti-Semitic
Posse Comitatus ideology. Also attracted to the cause were the
conspiracy-minded Oath Keepers, who organized a fundraiser for Finch’s legal defense in August.

Finch’s case has become a fundraising draw for Sheriff Mack, who sent
out an e-mail alert this week asking for help to support Finch.
“Sheriff Finch did exactly what all of us have been hoping and praying
for now for so many years; he nullified a gun charge and the arrest of a
law-abiding citizen,” the e-mail said. “So the State, under the
direction of one corrupt deputy Attorney General (Willie Meggs) with
complicity of an equally corrupt FL Governor, actually arrested and
removed from office the duly elected Sheriff of Liberty County,
Florida.”

Finch himself has remained defiant while attracting support from a
number of “constitutionalists.” He told an interviewer for the John
Birch Society organ The New American that there was no chance he would stop fighting the charge: “Never! I will take this case all the way to the Supreme Court.”

Finch is fairly clear about his motives, telling the interviewer:
“When I ordered him released from the holding cell I say that he has a
right to carry a gun under the Second Amendment, and so I let him go.”
Asked what prompted that step, he answered: “My beliefs and my stand on
the Second Amendment.”

He also made clear his view of his obligations: “My only obligation
is to the Constitution and I will continue to act according to my oath
and that duty.”

Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, has been besieged by Sheriff Finch’s supporters. One report
shortly after Finch’s arrest noted that Scott had received 1,326
e-mails, and only three of those supported the charges. Several writers
suggested Scott resign because of the arrest, claiming it proved he
opposed the Second Amendment.

Sara Robinson has worked as an editor or columnist for several national magazines, on beats as varied as sports, travel, and the Olympics; and has contributed to over 80 computer games for EA, Lucasfilm, Disney, and many other companies. A native of California's High Sierra, she spent 20 years in Silicon Valley before moving to Vancouver, BC in 2004. She currently is pursuing an MS in Futures Studies at the University of Houston. You can reach her at srobinson@enginesofmischief.com.